Know Your Streets

Like many countries (Avenida Libertador, anyone?), most cities in Vietnam have the same street names, almost all of which are named for Vietnamese heroes and/or kings. This can be confusing for visitors, but here are some of the more prominent:

Pham Ngu Lao - a 13th century Vietnamese general of the Tran Dynasty

Le Loi - Vietnamese emperor in the 15 century who liberated Vietnam from Chinese rule. He is said to have been granted a magic sword by a turtle on the eve of a major battle. After his victory he returned the sword to the turtle in its lake.

Hai Ba Trung - The two Trung Sisters rode elephants against the Chinese way back in the first century AD.

Le Thanh Ton - Vietnamese emperor not long after Le Loi. He is known as the 'Vietnamese Hammurabi' because he drew up a comprehensive legal code and attempted to rule Vietnam through proper Confucian principles.

Tran Hung Dao - a Military commander during the 13th century, who managed to repel not one, not two, but three Mongol invasions.

Nguyen Trai - Scholar, poet, political thinker, and close friend of Le Loi. His writings helped inspire the Vietnamese people to rise up against the Ming Dynasty.

Some notable exceptions are streets named for Frenchman (Pasteur, Yersim, Alexandre de Rhodes) and Dong Khoi, know to the French as Catinat, the RVN as Tu Do (Freedom) and now Dong Khoi (Guerrilla Uprising).

Valentine's in Saigon

So it looks like Valentine's Day has come to Vietnam is a pretty big way. The usual pink and red hearts are everywhere, set-price dinners abound, and flocks of schoolchildren selling flowers add to the usual gum and postcard hawkers.

Of course it makes sense that it should be so: Vietnamese culture is quite sentimental and any opportunity to sing love songs and sell candy is siezed upon.

The upshot of all this, however, is that it is literally impossible to find a taxi. Usually content to simply ride their motorbikes, the Saigonese have decided to splurge on a motor vehicle with doors and four wheels.

Eventually, Oanh and I were forced to share a cab with a good-natured Japanese fellow who was on his way to the airport, but the traffic was tremendous - even more than when Vietnam won the Asia Cup.

L'Opera Du Rue Catinat

They re-opened the Opera House! And right after Tet, just like the receptionist told me.

No opera in it as yet - just some silly Vietnamese comedy involving cross-dressing. Still, this is definitely a hopeful sign. I'll drop by today to see if they have a schedule posted.

I don't expect Juan Diego Florez or Cecilia Bartoli to drop by anytime soon, but something classical would be nice...

Climbing Mt. Jesus

Since time was passing slowly at Tet i decided to take a short trip to Vung Tau, a beach resort about two hours outside HCMC.

It's a pleasant little town, with nice beaches and good seafood. For some reason Vietnamese people don't usually wear swimsuits to the beach; they show up in jeans and shirts and go into the water anyway.

For reasons no one can quite explain, VT inspired a the construction of numerous huge religious statues. Probably the most striking is Mt. Jesus, who peers down on the city like a stalker hiding in the bushes:

Once you get closer, however, old JC becomes a bit more impressive, if not any less silly:

The Tet Blues

So today is the first day of the Vietnamese New Year, or Tet. This year is the Year of the Buffalo - my year!

Alas, everybody leaves town for the holiday and most of the businesses shut down. I'll have to find a way to pass the time until things start up again.

On the plus side, the streets are relatively peaceful and there are flowers all along Nguyen Hue.